The CSR landscape: an overview of key theoretical issues and concepts

Questioning the way the business enterprise operates in contemporary society has become an established field of investigation. In the current global debate, corporate social responsibility (CSR) - and other terms that are linked to it such as sustainability and corporate citizenship - tend to be as much about semantics as substance. Therefore, the key to this book is the fundamental idea that drivers for change should be found primarily within the heart of organizations and expressed through various implementation strategies. As long as organizations are not embracing CSR as a fundamental element in business continuity, it will remain a mixture of semantics, avoidance, compliance and social philanthropy. This book captures and distils emerging implementation perspectives in terms of theory and practice in one concise volume and will help to unravel and demonstrate the possible changes and consequences of the adaptation of CSR

Key success factors in bidding for hallmark sporting events

Hallmark sporting events often are commercially driven entertainment entities which represent an economically important part of the overall sport industry. Because of the high popularity of international sporting contests, hallmark sporting events attract significant commercial, media, and consumer attention. Cities around the world are beginning to understand the potential of using these events to draw attention to the host city, which is why the market for hallmark sporting events is becoming increasingly competitive. In order to award the hosting of the event to the most suitable organizer, event owners often require potential hosts to bid. The most important elements in this process have been largely based on logical assumptions rather than empirical data. This study focused on the bid process in order to ascertain the important elements essential in achieving a successful bid.

Copper-induced trafficking of the Cu-ATPase: a key mechanism for copper homeostasis

The Menkes protein (MNK) and Wilson protein (WND) are transmembrane, CPX-type Cu-ATPases with six metal binding sites (MBSs) in the N-terminal region containing the motif GMXCXXC. In cells cultured in low copper concentration MNK and WND localize to the transGolgi network but in high copper relocalize either to the plasma membrane (MNK) or a vesicular compartment (WND). In this paper we investigate the role of the MBSs in Cu-transport and trafficking. The copper transport activity of MBS mutants of MNK was determined by their ability to complement a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae deficient in CCC2 (Deltaccc2), the yeast MNK/WND homologue. Mutants (CXXC to SXXS) of MBS1, MBS6, and MBSs1-3 were able to complement Deltaccc2 while mutants of MBS4-6, MBS5-6 and all six MBS inactivated the protein. Each of the inactive mutants also failed to display Cu-induced trafficking suggesting a correlation between trafficking and transport activity. A similar correlation was found with mutants of MNK in which various MBSs were deleted, but two constructs with deletion of MBS5-6 were unable to traffic despite retaining 25% of copper transport activity. Chimeras in which the N-terminal MBSs of MNK were replaced with the corresponding MBSs of WND were used to investigate the region of the molecules that is responsible for the difference in Cu-trafficking of MNK and WND. The chimera which included the complete WND N-terminus localized to a vesicular compartment, similar to WND in elevated copper. Deletions of various MBSs of the WND N-terminus in the chimera indicate that a targeting signal in the region of MBS6 directs either WND/MNK or WND to a vesicular compartment of the cell.

Corporate social responsibility: some key theoretical issues and concepts for new ways of doing business

This paper brings together some of the main scholarly sources and thinkers of the last fifty years or so, who have been influential in the corporate social responsibility discussions which have become important, once again, as we begin the 21st century. The author creates a narrative ofkey social, economic and political concepts and themes, which are rationalised (in ways that others might not) from what is often a very disparate, diverse and not always connected discussion on corporate social responsibility. This is not an objective history, charting the developments chronologically, but is the bringing together ofsome serious thinking in the field of corporate social responsibility in a way which has considerable resonance JOT both the development of public policy and business practice in corporate citizenship at the beginning ofthe 21st century.

Piercing the decision-making sphere : happiness as the key to real shareholder participation

The purpose of this article is to explain why recent corporate governance reforms and initiatives proclaiming to enhance shareholder participation and elevate shareholder rights, do not go far enough. Indeed, it is suggested that corporate governance polices and reform programs, which have emerged across the world in response to a number of high-profile corporate collapses, act to re-emphasise the limited, 'passive' role which individual shareholders have traditionally experienced in public companies. Although increasing the amount information provided to shareholders about corporate decisions and strategies, and providing shareholders with a greater opportunity to participate in annual general meetings, do go some way in 'empowering' shareholders, it is argued that shareholders essentially remain passive observers, rather than becoming active participants. To become active participants, or corporate governance 'insiders " it is argued that corporate law needs to be directed at piercing the 'decision-making sphere' for individual shareholders in public companies. This involves accommodating an active role for shareholders in the actual decision-making processes of the corporation, rather than simply being informed of decisions that are made and being entitled to veto decisions at the annual general meeting. The second part of the article looks specifically at how the 'oppression' or 'unfair prejudice' remedy, the most commonly used shareholder remedy, is capable - if reformulated so that the pursuit of happiness, rather than vague notions of 'fairness' and 'justice' is the central objective of the remedy - of being used to influence a change of culture within public companies directed at facilitating an active participatory role for shareholders.

Photosynthesis of hydrogen and methane as key components for clean energy system

While researchers are trying to solve the world's energy woes, hydrogen is becoming the key component in sustainable energy systems. Hydrogen could be produced through photocatalytic water-splitting technology. It has also been found that hydrogen and methane could be produced through photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide with water. In this exploratory study, instead of coating catalysts on a substrate, pellet form of catalyst, which has better adsorption capacity, was used in the photo-reduction of carbon dioxide with water. In the experiment, some water was first absorbed into titanium dioxide pellets. Highly purified carbon dioxide gas was then discharged into a reactor containing these wet pellets, which were then illuminated continuously using UVC lamps. Gaseous samples accumulated in the reactor were extracted at different intervals to analyze the product yields. The results confirmed that methane and hydrogen were photosynthesized using pellet form of TiO₂ catalysts. Hydrogen was formed at a rate as high as 0.16 micromoles per hour (μmol h⁻¹). The maximum formation rate of CH₄ was achieved at 0.25 μmol h⁻¹ after 24 h of irradiation. CO was also detected.